Sandy can't keep all the politicking tamped down. The latest fuss centers around Mitt Romney's recent comments in Ohio—followed by an ad—about Chrysler and China. "I saw a story today that one of the great manufacturers in this state, Jeep, now owned by the Italians, is thinking of moving all production to China," Romney told a rally in Defiance last week. The implication that US jobs—and Ohio ones in particular—were being shifted to China prompted Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne to weigh in, reports the Detroit Free Press. No American jobs are going to China, and "it is inaccurate to suggest anything different,” he said in an email to employees. (He did not mention Romney.)
NPR notes that Romney's original comment was based on this Bloomberg story, which does indeed talk of Chrysler's plans to make Jeeps in China, but adds that the plan involves "adding Jeep production sites rather than shifting output from North America to China." The new Romney ad skips any direct assertion that US jobs are moving to China, but states, "Obama took GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy, and sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build Jeeps in China. Mitt Romney will fight for every American job." PolitiFact says the ad "strings together facts in a way that presents (a) wholly inaccurate picture." The Obama camp, meanwhile, released a rebuttal ad. (More Election 2012 stories.)